President/CEO
Darlene Stromstad, FACHE
President/CEO of the Mohawk Valley Health System
Darlene Stromstad is President/CEO of Mohawk Valley Health System (Parent Company) of Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare, St. Elizabeth Medical Center and all related corporations in Utica, New York. Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) serves a multi county area of central New York and is comprised of 570 acute care beds, 202 long term care beds and over 50 locations in Oneida, Herkimer, and Madison Counties. An integrated delivery system with approximately $610 million in revenue and 4,200 full time equivalent employees, it has more than 24,000 inpatient admissions and 650,000 outpatient visits annually.
Ms. Stromstad received her Master of Business Administration from Rivier College in Nashua, New Hampshire, and her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Ms. Stromstad has decades of experience in healthcare and has led a variety of healthcare organizations across the country. She most recently was in Boston, Massachusetts, where she served as interim CEO of Fenway Health, one of the nation’s premier and largest federally qualified health centers. Prior to that, Ms. Stromstad was in Connecticut where she served as president/CEO of Waterbury Hospital and the Greater Waterbury Health Network (now known as Waterbury HEALTH). During her six-year tenure at Waterbury Hospital, Ms. Stromstad helped to stabilize the organization’s financial position, rebuild its employee culture and morale, and assure its future through a strategic partnership and acquisition. Prior to that she served as president and CEO of Goodall Hospital in Sanford, Maine, where she also was instrumental in strengthening the hospital’s finances and expanding healthcare services for the community.
Ms. Stromstad is known nationally for her leadership and active engagement in organizations such as the American College of Healthcare Executives where she served as a member of the Board of Governors. She also served on the American Hospital Association’s Metropolitan Advisory Council. She served at the statewide level on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Hospital Association and the Maine Hospital Association, and at the local and regional levels as a Board member for the Greater Waterbury United Way, Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce, Naugatuck Community College, and Sanford Downtown Legacy.
Senior Vice Presidents
Louis Aiello
Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer
Louis Aiello is senior vice president and chief financial officer for the Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS). He has served as senior vice president and chief financial officer for MVHS since March 2014.
In this position, Aiello is responsible for the finance and operations of the company while integrating accounting, budgeting, investing and financial reporting as well as providing the health system with the managerial support necessary to administer the highest quality of care to all patients.
Aiello is responsible for overseeing Patient Access Services, Patient Accounting, Financial Services, Cash Management, Health Information Management, Telecommunications, Purchasing, Mail Room/Print Shops, Nutrition Services, Environmental Services (FSLH), Patient Transport System (FSLH), Call Center, Laundry and Home Care Services. Prior to the MVHS affiliation, Aiello served as the chief financial officer and vice president of finance at St. Elizabeth Medical Center.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Utica College of Syracuse University and passed his Uniform CPA Examination in 1996.
Patricia Charvat
Senior Vice President, Marketing and Strategy
Patricia Charvat provides leadership and direction, in conjunction with the organization’s senior executives, for establishing growth, business development and marketing strategies. Charvat also helps MVHS establish deep community relationships that target programs to demonstrably improve the health of the communities we serve throughout the region. She is responsible for developing advocacy strategies at the federal, state and local levels and managing the marketing and communications functions and staff.
Charvat brings extensive experience to MVHS, as well as knowledge of New York healthcare and of Utica. Charvat served as vice president of Corporate Communications and Marketing for the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) in Albany, New York. Charvat also served as a senior vice president at the Massachusetts Hospital Association, and for several years, ran her own consulting company which focused on healthcare marketing and strategy, advocacy, community health, as well as providing support to start-up companies.
From 2013 to February 2019, she led the public affairs, communications and marketing function for the Greater Waterbury Health Network in Waterbury, Connecticut, where she was instrumental in navigating through regulatory processes, building community trust and grassroots advocacy. Her focus on rebranding also included a successful effort to improve awareness and referrals.
Charvat graduated from Utica College with a dual bachelor’s degree major in Journalism and Public Relations.
Jerome Mendóza Dayao, DNP, MS, RN, NEA-BC, CCRN-K
Chief Nursing Officer
Dr. Dayao comes to us from Seattle, Washington, where he served as the Senior Associate Administrator of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at the 413-bed, UW Medicine Harborview Medical Center, a level 1 trauma center. As CNO, he led more than 2,000 nurses and allied health professionals. He has also held nurse executive and staff positions at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC), a 456-bed, public teaching hospital, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. Dr. Dayao is clinically trained as a cardiac-vascular nurse specializing in caring for heart failure and heart transplant patients.
In 2017, Dr. Dayao was named as one of Becker’s Hospital Review’s “Rising Star: 60 Healthcare Leaders Under 40 list.” He was also named as one of the 2021 Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 under 40 list recognizing professionals in the Greater Seattle Metro from healthcare, aerospace, tech, food services and nonprofits, among other sectors. He completed doctorate degree in nursing from UCLA.
Meghan Fahey, JD, MA, BA
Senior Vice President of Legal and Compliance
Fahey received her Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law and her Master of Business Administration from Syracuse University – Martin J. Whitman School of Management in Syracuse, New York. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York.
Prior to joining MVHS, Fahey served as corporate counsel for Providence St. Joseph Health in Renton, Washington. Fahey has more than 14 years of legal experience. Fahey will be located at Burrstone House, 1710 Burrstone Road in Utica. She can be reached at 315-624-5050.
Kent Hall, MD
Chief Physician Executive
Kent Hall, MD, is the Chief Physician Executive (CPE) at MVHS. In this position, Dr. Hall is responsible for overseeing the medical staffs of the St. Elizabeth Campus and the St. Luke’s Campus, credentialing, the MVHS Medical Staff Office, Family Medicine Residency Program, Dental Residency Program, Palliative Care, Medical Libraries and the MVHS Medical Group. He is involved in the quality of medical care delivered as well as responsible for driving quality and safety initiatives throughout MVHS. Dr. Hall also works directly with the department chairs, directors of contracted medical groups and hospital-based physicians to coordinate patient care and safety efficiently.
Most recently, Dr. Hall was chief medical officer (CMO) at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, New York, as well as Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, New York. There, he worked to improve patient outcomes and delivery through improved clinical quality processes, as well as improve operational efficiencies within and between hospital based clinical services. Prior to that, Dr. Hall also served as Emergency Department medical director at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital.
Dr. Hall completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Cincinnati Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. He received his medical degree from Upstate Medical College in Syracuse, New York, and his Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology from Union College in Schenectady, New York.
Mary Anne Healy-Rodriguez, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE
Senior Vice President/Chief Quality Officer
Dr. Healy-Rodriguez earned her Master of Science in Nursing Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Health Policy from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with an interest in Emergency
Department crowding and patient logistics.
Dr. Healy-Rodriguez has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare at organizations ranging in diversity from a 110+ bed community hospital to a 600+ bed Level I Trauma Center. Prior to joining MVHS, Dr. Healy-Rodriguez served as both chief operating officer and chief nurse executive at the Prospect Medical Holdings Hospital in New Jersey. She has extensive experience in clinical quality management, revenue cycle and hospital operations; all aimed toward the delivery of care that prioritizes quality and patient safety outcomes.
Allison Wollen, MBA
Chief Human Resources Officer
Allison Wollen received her Master of Business Administration in Human Resources from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, and a Bachelor of Management Science and Psychology from SUNY Geneseo in Geneseo, New York. Prior to joining MVHS, Wollen served as Vice President of Human Resources at UNC Health Care in Goldsboro, North Carolina. She has also served as a human resources executive at large healthcare systems in the Northeast including UMASS Memorial Medical Center/Health Alliance in Massachusetts, Rutland Regional Medical Center in Vermont and Boston Children’s Hospital. Wollen grew up in upstate New York enjoying outdoor activities like golfing, hiking and biking. Wollen has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare and human resources management.
